Day 5 Of My Self-Imposed So-Called Hermitic Existence

/ Ally Bean

~ • ~

[I’m not sure, but I think that Ms. Bean has finally cracked.]

~ • ~

I’ve not left the house since Monday.  What with the white death and sub-zero temps outside I’ve chosen to become a hermit.  Sort of.

  • I see + talk with my husband every morning and night, so that would be un-hermetic.  Hermits don’t chat.  
  • I have no religious principles to underpin my decision to become a hermit, so that would be un-hermetic.  Hermits aren’t motivated by extreme weather avoidance.
  • I’ve groomed myself and have worn cheerful, colorful jammie bottoms + turtlenecks + Polartec tops, so that would be un-hermetic.  Hermits don’t look cute regardless of situation.

~ • ~

[Do you suppose that Ms. Bean has become loopy and wordy because of lack of sleep?]

~ • ~

I didn’t sleep well last night.  The weather forecasters predicted a low of -12ºF which we did experience.  Snuggled under the comforters I should have snoozed better, but the electricity went off in the whole subdivision.

I don’t know how long it was off, but when I awakened mid-snooze and realized that it was off, I trudged downstairs to open the cabinet doors under the kitchen sink so that the pipes wouldn’t freeze.  Then I checked the house temperature on the thermostat, which has a back-up battery.

It was 55ºF inside.

After that I went back upstairs, woke up Zen-Den to tell him the news, and tried to go back to sleep.  Sleep did not happen.  Operation Fret, however, ramped up and took over my mind.

~ • ~

[Do you think that Ms. Bean, poor frozen darling, will make it through another day at home by herself?]

~ • ~

I’m happy to report that the heat is on again.  I don’t know when it came back on, but it did.  We suburban hermits don’t need to know all the details about what keeps us warm.  We prefer to allow some mysteries to stay mysteries.

I’m sure that in years to come when I look back upon this week of frigid temps, boring days and heating mysteries, my mind will have turned it all into a positive memory, explained in glowing terms of self-reliance, creativity and personal growth.

Or some such nonsense.

But sitting here today, faced with another bitterly cold day of ho-hum, I’m more inclined to feel a need to whine about everything and everyone.  To discard any notions of bettering myself.  And to give in to the grumpy, enjoying it for all that it is.  *humph*

29 thoughts on “Day 5 Of My Self-Imposed So-Called Hermitic Existence”

  1. I’m with you. We have had bitter cold here for a couple weeks. I don’t even want to go shoe shopping (a very bad sign). Tonight we are going out for dinner but I will be dressed for the bunny hills. Commercial places (including restaurants) haven’t been able to keep it warm enough for me. Our normal temps for now are 40. We are lucky if we have a high of 18. I know I will not look on this time fondly or in any positive way. It has made last winter with the outrageous snow looked not so bad.

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  2. Did we decide “hermit” over “recluse?” In either event, we will re-introduce you into society this weekend, probaly in its purest form – at the grocery store. And if you behave yourself, we’ll hit the drug store.

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    • Zen-Den, I’m being a recluse, someone who is voluntarily non-social, as a theme for the year. I’m being a hermit, someone who shuns the world for religious reasons, just for this cold snap. It’s all very nuanced thinking. 😉

      Can’t wait for my re-introduction into proper society this weekend. Whatever will I wear?

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  3. Herman had a handful of hermits… and they looked well groomed, got out of the house, and they sang rather well too. I don’t know if they were cute, that’s not for me to say….

    The wickedest of winters are those who save their wrath up for late in the season. It actually wasn’t that bad a winter until recently… and according to the forecast, for a while yet. Stay warm, but go outside and check on Fuzzy first!

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    • evilsquirrel13, it’s been odd to have winter show up so late in the season. I cannot remember another year like this one. Funny you should mention Fuzzy, I’ve been keeping my eye out for him when I look out the kitchen window. I saw him the other day, so he’s alive and well.

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      • It can certainly happen. During the first weekend of March last year I was in Oklahoma for fun, and had my return trip home ruined (and delayed a day) by a nasty winter storm that iced and snowed over everything, then left temps in the single digits. Not the kind of weather one expects to find in the Sooner State in March… nor that the Sooners themselves expect either given how poorly they dealt with the mess…

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        • That’s really the problem: how cities, states, regions handle unexpected winter conditions. Around here, our city does a decent job, but in the state immediately south of us, KY, weather like this brings everything to a halt. I can only imagine how difficult it was for OK to deal with an icy winter storm. Glad that you got out safely.

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  4. I must admit, it’s even cold here. It got down to the teens last night, which is unheard of! Schools have been on 2hr delays all week because of the cold. We’ve had no snow, just colder than normal temps. And everyone is complaining. It’s kind of funny. Even Mozart protested yesterday when I put his turtleneck sweater on and attempted to take him on a walk. We got down to the corner and he refused to go further–just stopped and stood there. So we came home and he spent the rest of the day snoozing. Have fun this weekend and wear something “chirpy”!!

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    • Beth, I see on the national weather maps that even down into FL there are freezing temperatures. Not surprised that you’re experiencing some, too. Poor little Mozart, a Southern doggie, forced out into the cold, brutal world by his Northern-reared mother. No wonder he needs to nap the day away after such treatment! 😉

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  5. Well, at least it’s not sub-zero here. I am in day 5 of my involuntary weather hijacking. I am reaching my limit. As for your religious reasons – I’m sure the flying spaghetti monster would disapprove of sub-zero weather. It’s got to be bad for the meatballs.

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  6. If we get snow/ice/sleet, it’s usually in Feb around Valentines. (As a kid, I only had red heavy sweaters due to the seasonal holiday occurring during the cold season here)
    I do worry about you guys losing heat. (How did we manage without polar fleece?) It’s alway the same here when we lose power and someone remembers and gets up to open cabinet/closet doors to protect pipes….and who notices when power goes off. Pretty odd who notices and gets moving? Do you guys have really good sleeping bags just in case? We used to tell daughter we were camping out inside when we had to sleep in by the fireplace during extreme cold winters with no power or heat.
    Molly is in suspended animation again as a front is coming in bringing more cold wind and rain…if it’s not raining, she rarely feels cold being sled type dog…but even with that – Your winter there is one for the books! Stay snug!

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    • philmouse, we have cold winters but this one has turned frigid after 6 weeks of mildness. Usually the cold is less severe and spread out over months, not all at once in 10 days. All systems are strained because of it. Hence last night’s outage.

      We don’t have sleeping bags but we do have lots of blankets, throws & comforters. Although a nice doggy, such as Molly, would be a great way to keep warm… if she could calm down long enough to snuggle.

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  7. Ugh. It was -15 here this morning. Don’t Ask if I figure in the windchill. I’ve been without a car for two weeks (another Don’t Ask), so unless I want to wake up at 6 and take Rick to work, I’m stranded. More often than not, then, Stranded it is.

    I’m losing my perspective, and not just because I can only see snow, snow, snow, everywhere snow everywhere I look. This has been February entirely now, and a good deal of January. With no end in sight.

    For someone with SAD, this has been…well, let’s just say I’m struggling.

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    • nance, I’m sorry to hear that you’re struggling with this unusually cold weather. It’s taken all the spunk out of me. I just want to eat carbs and play games on my iPad.

      I can understand why you wouldn’t want to take Rick to work. Getting up and going out at that early time would be, for me, mentally and physically exhausting. Not a great way to start a day.

      Hang in there and thanks for stopping by to chat about the weather. Or more accurately, the weather’s lousy impact on we poor mortals.

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  8. Ooh, tough night for the power to go out. Glad it’s back on for you. I’m not sure how people survived these winters before the pleasure of electricity. There’s only so far a wood-burning stove will reach…

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    • Carrie, I got thinking about that same thing while I was not sleeping last night. We had a home with a wood-burning stove once, and while delightful from 10′ away, the heat from the stove didn’t even make it into the kitchen 15′ away. I am grateful for electricity. Last night confirmed it.

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  9. Even though we don’t have the bitter cold you do, it’s in the twenties/teens at night. Our floors are concrete. No rugs because MTM the modernist/minimalist is opposed to them. That’s fun to step on at 3am when I have to pee.

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    • Andra, I can only imagine how cold those floors must be. Your poor tootsies. I’d never thought of that as being a downside to modernist/minimalist design. No way around it, I suppose. Walk fast! 😉

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  10. I laughed out loud at “Operation Fret” because it really struck a chord with me. (My middle name is Fret, I think) That is unimaginably cold to a Washingtonian. Anything under 50 is cold to us. 🙂 Stay cozy and as hermit-like as you want; I would be “on strike” until the weather warmed up or spring came,whichever comes first.

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    • Margaret, happy to make you laugh. I try to avoid Operation Fret, but some nights it finds me. I plan to continue on with my hermitic existence for as long as it’s below 10ºF. I’ll venture out when we hit the teens. But until then, books and movies and recipes and iPad games will fill my days.

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